Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-10-10
CHOLERA ABOARD SHIP.
ACCOUNT o. a SAD
VOYAGE

Tho Plague stricken Passengers Of the
Steamship Alesia-Merriment Turned
to sorrow-Gay People Attacked BY
Cholera. Die and are Buried at Sea.
NEW YORK, Oct. S.-The Rev DR.,
Maynard, the lecturer, was n of the
passengers on the plague stricken steamer
Alesia, which arrived here a couple o
weeks ago. He was seen by u reportet
and told the following story of the sac
voyage:
II don't know the exact number OF
%emigrants who were taken on board n
Naples, but it must have been about 600
Among them was IA party of forty fro
Palermo, a plague. stricken city, No,
of che few cabin passengers Were, q
course, aware of the occurrence at tn
time, and yet a circumstance which oc
Cured before we started aroused i'll mS
gind an underlined suspicion that every.
thing was not all right The day before
we left the steamship people gave a re
ception en- board the Alesia to the Nea.
pelitan municipal authorities, who at
tended in grand state. 1t was quite u
delightful occasion, and | am convinced
now that it was intended to mollify the
authorities on account of the company's
action in taking the Palermo passengers.
During the earlier part OF the pass
age all circumstances seemed to conspir
to produce pleasure to all on board. Fol
a couple of days n s%irrocco came acros,
the Mediterranean from Africa, but did
not make the temperature unbearably
hot. We Were a gay company, the ltal
ian emigrants particularly SO. The dis
comforts attending an emigrant voyage
seemed to have no effect upon tEe.i
spirits. They chatted aud laughed and
sang and danced all day long and wei.
into the nights, which were made more
pleasant by moonlight. Among the emf.
grants were many of the better class OF
Italians, and their really beautiful sing
ing added greatly to the charm of those
delightful evenings.
wv were about twelve days out when
the plague broke out. A young Nea
pohtan died. 1t was given out that heart
disease was the cause, and there was AT
the time no cause for supposing other
wise, and yet, in some unaccountable
way, all on board ship became seize,i
with a misgiving. Nothing on the par.
of the captain, who was a particularly
jolly fellow, OF the doctor or the officer
indicated that the Neapolitan's dealt
was out of the ordinary run of such mis-
fortunes, yet it caused a sudden fear to
fall upon the emigrants, the like OF
which i had never before, in a long and
very varied experience of travel, met
with. From that time not Il sound of
mirth was heard. The dancing was
ended. Not o note was sung.
"The funeral of the Neapolitan was a
sad and impressive sight, and, if it was
possible, it increased the general dejec-
ton. l have no doubt that the condition
of mind of these people had a good deal
to do with the swift Roadway which the
disease made after it began its work.
never saw such a complete surrender to
misfortune as those people=Inade, and 1t
presented all the more startling appear
ance on account of the ight-heartedness
which they had at first displayed. They
seemed as limp as rags. They made no
struggle with fate, but sat or meyed
about listlessly, and seemed actually to
invite death by their dread of it.
II can not give any particulars regard
ing the progress of the disease or the
number of the victims. Strange to say,
the disease first struck the Neapolitans,
and the proportion of the stricken among
them was greater than among those from
Palermo, who imported the disease. The
discipline on hoard was perfect, and the
doctor and his assistants were untiring
in their efforts. The captain maintained
his jollity of demeanor throughout the
entire trial in q manner which / now CON
TESS was inspiring. There were no more
funerals after the first. Concealment of
the true state of affairs lasted but a short
time, and the victims were given to the
deep, one after another. l believe that
not one really knows how many died on
board; every day brought its fatalities .